News

The OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) introduces its new ‘One health’ web portal “A large amount of information on the ‘One Health’ concept can be found on this platform, along with details of global level action taken by the OIE and its partners to promote cooperation between the human health and animal health sectors.”   Paris, 12 August 2016 - Introduced at the beginning of the millennium, this concept expresses in a few words the acknowledgement that human health and animal health are interdependent and related to the ecosystems in which they coexist. Diseases of animal origin which can be transmitted to humans, such as avian influenza, rabies, Rift Valley fever and brucellosis, pose global threats to public health. Other diseases which are mainly transmitted from person to person also circulate in animals or have a known animal reservoir, and are susceptible to causing serious health crises, as the recent epidemic of Ebola virus demonstrated. These risks grow stronger with globalisation, climate change and changes in human behaviour, all of which provide opportunities for pathogens to colonise new areas and evolve into new forms. The OIE believes that this concept requires a global collaborative approach to tackle the risks to human, animal and environmental health as a whole, and takes action accordingly. It builds on its intergovernmental standards and the worldwide information on animal health that it gathers, as well as its network of international experts and programmes for strengthening the capacities of national Veterinary Services. Moreover, it works in collaboration with more than 70 other international organisations, in particular those that play a key role at the human–animal–environmental interface. The new web portal brings together the tools developed by the OIE to control worldwide animal health risks more effectively, presenting the actions taken with its partner organisations – in particular, the WHO and the FAO, within the framework of the Tripartite Alliance – as well as the tools used by stakeholders on the ground to support the joint work of the human health and animal health services. One page is dedicated to the OIE’s communication tools, which are aimed at diverse audiences and include fact sheets, explanatory tools, videos and press releases, as well as information on various events related to the One Health theme.”  Communication Unit   12 rue de Prony  75017 Paris, France Tel: +33 - 1 44 15 18 88 Fax: +33 - 1 42 67 09 87 See: http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/detail/article/the-oie-introduces-its-new-one-health-web-portal/